Kagami
by Amanda Shatirah
Summary: Daniel finds an old friend, but is that all she is? Chapter 9 up, the plot is thickening, please review, even if you DON'T like it, let me know why!
1. Chapter 1

Kagami

(Set sometime in Season 5, obviously before "Meridian"!)

Prologue

Rameses the Great was not happy. 

He had every reason to be happy, or so it would seem. He was Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, commander of the richest, most advanced and powerful nation known to man. He had dozens of wives, hundreds of concubines, immeasurable wealth, and was worshipped as a god by his people, worshipped as his Great Ancestor Ra, god of the sun, had been worshipped during the time he had honoured the people by descending to Earth to rule them. But that had been a long time ago.

And now, Rameses was not happy. He was, however, determined to do something about it.

The guards in the doorway parted slightly to allow a small, slender woman to pass intothe inner chamber. Despite her size, Amenirdis was feared by the guards and all the servants of the Pharaoh's court. Rumours circulated that she was a daughter of the god Ra himself, if that were possible, and yet she was unknown to anyone outside the palace walls.

Yet before Rameses, she lowered herself to the floor. "My lord, you summoned me?"

The Pharaoh turned and regarded the submissive form. 

"Rise," he commanded. Rameses contemplated the woman before him. She was, in a way, Rameses' closest confidante, perhaps the only being on Earth who knew all the terrible secrets he did. They were related, in a manner, and Rameses knew that Amenirdis was the only person with whom he could entrust this task.

"I have a mission for you, my cousin," he said after a time. "The Hebrew slaves are spreading lies and rumours about me, and it seems their prophet is taking credit for all the harm that has befallen Egypt of late. They wish for me to free them so they can follow their so-called prophet to a distant land."

"I have heard the stories, my lord Rameses. They should be punished for their blasphemy against their god."

"Amenirdis," he lowered his voice, "you and I both know the secrets of the gods, but sadly it is not within my power to challenge their lies. I may have the memories of Ra, but the powers of the gods are fading over the generations, and I can no longer control Ra's magic. It is only my lineage that keeps me on this throne, cousin."

At this Amenirdis' eyes flashed, and she moved to her Pharaoh's side. "My lord, in time Ra and the other gods will honour us again, and your rightful powers will be restored to you." It was said as a perfunctory consolatory statement, but it caused Rameses to look upon her with renewed anger.

"Idiot, do you think I don't know of your plotting against my line? I know the secrets, cousin, all of the secrets, even yours. Ours is a shared, miserable memory, and our kind only knows tyranny and deceit. Still, my cousin, I am going to give you your chance," Rameses eyes sparkled, if they did not glow.

"I am listening, my lord."

"No one outside the palace knows of you, and I have kept your existence secret to all but my inner circle. Not even that traitor Hebrew who calls himself a prophet knows you."

"That is true, my lord, you and your family have honoured your word in granting me asylum on this planet since our lord Ra left us."

"And yet you desire the rights of the gods, and now is your chance."

"My lord?" Amenirdis' eyes flashed and her voice changed in her confusion.

"I will bring you a Hebrew slave of your choosing, my cousin. You will leave your present body, take the slave, and infiltrate the Hebrews as they leave Egypt. I know the slaves, they claim a religion but they are weak in their faith in their unseen God and can easily be led astray again. This, my cousin, will be your task." Rameses smiled at her. "I will give you some of the tools of Ra to help you, but you must choose wisely when and how to reveal your power. If you plot well, cousin, you may even convince them to worship you."

"And what of my present host?" asked the intrigued Goa'uld. She was desperate to restore herself to her rightful place as a deity of the people, and would drag these Hebrews to the ends of the Earth if that were what it took.

Rameses eyes went up and down the woman's form, "As you wish, cousin, she may die if you prefer, or I may keep her, if you prefer, although she'll likely have gone mad and will be useless as a concubine once you leave her. Another nameless grave will go unnoticed…"

Chapter 1

Mrs. Woods was tired. It was the week before final exams and the University library had been full of students since opening. Mrs. Woods hated exam time. Normally the kindly librarian loved her job, it was quiet and yet sociable, she got to meet lots of interesting people, guest lecturers and researchers from all over the world would come to use her books (and they were all "her books") and ask her help. But normal, undergraduate students were not exciting, interesting people, and Mrs. Woods was tired of explaining for the nth time that day how to use the computerised online catalogue to a fourth year student who really should have figured it out four years ago. No, normal undergraduate students bored Mrs. Woods. She much preferred the exciting, interesting people. People like that nice Dr. Jackson, for example, who right at this moment was sat only four tables away, buried in some heavy, ancient volume, drinking coffee in flagrant violation of the No Food or Drink sign above his head. But today, she was even too tired to appreciate the exciting, interesting people. Especially like the very elegantly dressed Arab lady now at her desk. It was only five minutes to closing time (with exam season extended hours, Mrs. Woods was very tired) and yet this woman was demanding access to the Far East Archives.

"I'm really very sorry, miss, but the archives closed one hour ago, and the desk will close shortly. You'll just have to come back tomorrow." Mrs. Woods gave one of her more simpering smiles. She felt sorry for these Arab women in their long clothes and headscarves. Oppression, that's all it is, she thought to herself. Still she does wear it well… and such good English too.

Dr. Sara Rhys looked at the woman's condescending expression and wanted to poke her eyes out, but instead counted to ten, made a quick prayer for patience, and began again. 

"You don't seem to appreciate what I'm saying. My name is Dr. Rhys, I've just arrived from London to give a series of lectures in the Asian Studies Department. I have a lecture in the morning and was promised executive access rights to the archives by my boss. Now it seems he didn't put the paperwork through in time, but I still need to access those archives. I'm sure you can make an exception, I have my staff card and my passport here if you like."

Mrs. Woods, an avid Anglophile, looked at the card and the British passport with interest but as she doubted the woman across from her knew any members of the Royal Family, she was not inclined to change her stance.

"I'm really very sorry, Dr. Rhys, but our policy clearly states…"

"Croeso i Colorado Springs," a soft male voice offered from behind Dr. Rhys. She turned to see a rather scholarly-looking man smiling shyly. "Perhaps I can be of some help?" he offered in what sounded like nearly perfect Welsh.

Dr. Rhys was amused, it was not everyday she was caught out for her Welsh accent, she had worked to cover it up in most situations since she'd moved to London, but at times of stress and jetlag…

"Well, if you happen to be able to get me into the Far East Archives…" she began.

"Mrs. Woods," Daniel Jackson said, turning his attention to his favourite librarian, "I don't think it would be a problem for me to take our guest upstairs for an hour or so, after all she has a lecture to present and you wouldn't want her to be unprepared would you? I mean, the reputation of the university…" Daniel played expertly into Mrs. Woods' sense of pride for her employer.

Mrs. Woods, as usual, caved. "Well, providing you accompany her, I suppose it would be all right. But please take care when you lock up." 

"As always, Mrs. Woods," Daniel replied respectfully at the older woman.

"I'm Daniel, by the way," he reverted to English as he led Dr. Rhys towards the staircase to the second level where the archives were housed.

"Sara," she replied, looking at him curiously. Unusually for an American, he hadn't offered his hand, which to her indicated that he had some understanding of Arabic customs. Something she hadn't expected in this small town.

"Well, I must apologise for the way this library is organised," Daniel seemed embarrassed. "They've got the Arabic archives lumped in with everything from Asia, be it China, India, Thailand. I guess Orientalism may have gone out of style, but its legacy lives on in the library catalogue system!"

"Oh, well, actually it's the Japanese archives I'm after," Dr. Rhys admitted shyly. Daniel was taken aback but covered his surprise. "I'm here to give a series of lectures on the lost treasures of the Shrine of Ise," she continued.

"Amaterasu's mirror and all that?" Daniel asked with a very odd look in his eye.

"Yes," Sara was surprised, "are you a Japanese studies student?"

He laughed, "No, not me, well I do speak a bit of the language, but it's not my specialty. I've had a few encounters with, erm, mythical relics, in my line of work though."

Sara thought that a very odd statement. Encounters with mythical relics? Whoever this man was, he must have an interesting job. But, she smiled to herself, nowhere nearly as interesting as her own!

"Are you originally from Wales, then?" Daniel was curious. Rhys was such a typically Welsh name, and yet the woman's dress immediately marked her as a somewhat upperclass Egyptian, or maybe Jordanian? He knew there was a sizeable Arab population in the UK, but most were first generation and spoke broken English. Their children often had slightly unique accents as well, perhaps from years of going back and forth between countries. Such a strong Welsh lilt was unusual.

Sara smiled, "Well spotted. I was born in Egypt, actually, but my father is Welsh, from Aberystwyth. When my mum passed away we went back for good, I was about nine or ten then."

"We've something in common, then," Daniel stated, "I spent most of my childhood in Egypt, my parents were archaeologists," he finished by way of explanation.

"Archaeologists?" Sara was curious. Her dad had many friends amongst the ex-pats in Cairo, many of whom were 'into' archaeology, but there had only been one family for whom it had been a profession. "Your parents didn't happen to know the Jackson family, did they?"

Daniel stopped and looked at the woman next to him hard. The Jackson family? Then it all clicked, the name, the accent, and the nagging familiarity of the face in front of him.

"Oh my God – you're not Uncle Haroun's daughter, are you?"

Sara just stared, open-mouthed. Uncle Haroun? There were few people other than her own cousins who referred to her father as Uncle. Suddenly she had a flash of a pale, bespectacled young boy in her parents' sitting room in Cairo, a young boy she had adored as a brother, and who had become lost to them years ago. When her eyes cleared, she looked at this stranger in front of her and saw the boy, all grown up.

Why hadn't she seen it before? Danny Jackson, her childhood playmate, son of her father's best friend and neighbour in Cairo, was stood before her. The long-lost Danny Jackson.

"Ya salaam!" she exclaimed without thinking, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Danny? Oh my God, I thought – where have you been?" Sara could barely control herself from pulling the man into a fierce hug.

They sat down on a nearby bench to fully absorb what had just happened. "Baba heard about your parents," Sara finally said. "Poor baba, he was gutted, and he wanted to find you and bring you back to Cairo to live with us." Daniel smiled at that. He had fond memories of "uncle" Haroun. Had it not been for Sara's father, Daniel would have spent the first years of his life speaking only Arabic, but Haroun had seen to it that the children of himself and his American Egyptologist neighbours knew both languages equally well. Many an afternoon had been spent in Haroun's sitting room, eating "Welsh cakes", drinking tea, and listening to the BBC World Service on the shortwave radio.

"But then you disappeared into the system, as they say," Sara continued. A brief shadow of a painful memory flickered across Daniel's face, but he quickly replaced it with a smile.

"Well, seeing as how you weren't really related, it's not likely the authorities would have let your dad take me anyway, but I'm really touched to know I wasn't totally forgotten!" Daniel tried to laugh, but it came out sounding like an ironic snort.

"Ya, Danny, Baba still remembers you often," Sara wanted to comfort her old friend, but then decided to change the subject. "What are you doing now, anyway?"

"Me?" Daniel raced to remember the cover story. "I'm working here in Colorado Springs. I'm doing advisory work for the military."

"You? Military?" Sara's single left eyebrow rose in a manner that made Daniel nearly choke. "Funny, I would have thought you more like your parents, you know, digging in the sand looking for–"

"–mythical relics," he finished her sentence, and smiled. "Well I did complete studies in archaeology and linguistics, and that's what I advise on. You know, getting them to avoid bombing valuable libraries in Iraq, stuff like that."

Sara looked at him closely. It didn't sound very likely, after all Iraq had already lost how many valuable libraries so either Daniel was lying, or he wasn't doing his job very well! But she was in no position to probe too much. And it was late.

"Well, if you have time, do come to my lecture tomorrow," she changed the subject.

"Oh my God, the archives!" Daniel had completely forgotten the reason for their being upstairs in the university library well after closing time. He had promised Mrs. Woods one hour, and more than half of that was gone.

"No worries, I know exactly which book I need," Sara was calm as she got up and walked the aisles looking at the spines of all the books. "Yep, here it is. Shall we, then?"

She watched with amused curiosity as Daniel pulled out his keys and let them out of the dark building. As he locked the door behind them, she said, "Ya, Danny, you come by my flat tomorrow evening, inshaAllah, and we'll phone Baba together. He'll be so happy to hear your voice."

"I'd like that, inshaAllah," Daniel replied, easily slipping into his old habits of mixing Arabic expressions with English, a habit picked up from his parents and Uncle Haroun. "But I'm not sure if I'm free – my job can be a bit, ah, unpredictable. Look, Sara, I'll give you my card, give me a call in the evening, if I'm not at work, I'll be free to come for a visit."

She took the card, said her thank yous and goodnights, and turned to walk back to her on-  
campus guest quarters. As she walked, she looked at the card for the first time. Dr. Daniel Jackson, PhD. Specialist Civilian Advisor. Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Cheyenne Mountain Complex!

Sara stopped dead and turned to see Daniel driving away in his car. Well, she thought, it looks like you'll definitely see me tomorrow, Danny. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Good morning, campers!" Jack entered the briefing room at 08:00 the next morning with his usual über-chipperness. Daniel, on the other hand, just wanted to fill himself with as much coffee as possible. He hadn't slept well since last night's encounter in the library; long-forgotten childhood memories had flooded his dreams, and as a result, his need for caffeine was more acute than normal. Add that to the fact that his local coffee shop hadn't been open yet, and you had one unhappy Daniel. He hated when briefings were held so early – it meant he couldn't get a decent brew, and had to settle for the sludge that came out of the briefing room carafes. What Urgo had liked about it was beyond Daniel, but at times like these, he would have drunk anything to get his buzz!

"You all right, Daniel?" Sam asked from across the table. She'd seen Daniel tired before, but something seemed to be bothering him.

"Huh? Oh, no, I mean, yeah, I mean… I'm fine, Sam, how are you?" Sam wasn't buying it, but just then the General walked in and the briefing began.

"Good morning, people." General Hammond smiled at his flagship team. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold a second briefing with you today. We've got a specialist advisor coming in, and it seems she's been double booked."

"Double booked, sir?" Jack voiced everyone's surprise, while Sam simultaneously queried, "What kind of advisor, sir?" Teal'c just raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile Daniel didn't even notice the flow of the conversation.

"All your questions will be answered when she gets here. She'll be here at 1100 hours for your briefing, but I wanted to get you all here early as you may need to ship out promptly afterwards, depending on what we decide, and I wanted to give you a chance to get ready."

"General Hammond, we are always ready to be called into action at a moments notice." Teal'C intoned.

"I know that Teal'C, but this mission… well, it's a bit unusual. Major Carter, I need you to contact Jacob, or anyone else in the Tok'ra, and ask if a representative can be here by 1100. Anyone on the High Council should do, if your father's not available."

"Right, sir, I'll get on that immediately."

"OK, I'll see you all back here at 1100 hours. Oh, and Dr. Jackson, get yourself some good coffee by then! Dismissed." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

"Honestly Dr. Rhys, aren't you afraid of being shunned by all academia? I mean, I saw that website too, but I just thought it was some kind of 'Nihonjin-ron' propaganda," Daniel heard a familiar man's voice as he opened the door of the coffee shop with only half an hour until the briefing. He stopped in his tracks at what he saw.

Dr. Sara Rhys was standing at the counter, cup in hand, talking animatedly with Dr. Amir, one of the Middle East Studies lecturers from the university. "Well, it got my interest going anyway," he heard her tell the older man. "I mean, I've always thought there were a lot of cognates between Japanese and certain Arabic dialects. And Hebrew and Arabic are both Semitic languages, right? But I didn't learn Hebrew until recently, so I couldn't say if the claims on the site were feasible. Still I'm not sure about the accuracy of the translation he gives; maybe it's a dialect I haven't come across yet? Or too archaic?"

"Are you in town for long? If you tell me what you need to know, I could take a look at the site again and see. My Hebrew is a bit out of practice, but I'm sure I have something in my library which will help." Daniel was surprised. Dr. Amir, a portly scholar from the Sub-continent, aged about 50, was not known for his generous nature. Quite the opposite, he had a reputation as an "arrogant old codger", as one colleague had put it. And yet here he was offering to help Sara with some research?

Daniel didn't know which surprised him more, Dr. Amir's manner towards Sara Rhys, or the inexplicable feelings of resentment that it raised in himself.

"Could you? I mean, you're not busy with exams?" Dr. Amir shook his head, "Well, basically I just need to know about the song of the dance of Uzume, how it's rendered phonetically and it's meaning."

Daniel got his coffee and decided to intrude on this seemingly academic discussion.

"Might I interrupt?"

Sara both turned at his voice, "Daniel!"

Dr. Amir looked at the younger man with thinly veiled contempt, but took the hand Daniel offered him. "My dear Dr. Rhys, I wrongly assumed you had no acquaintances here. How is it you know our famous Dr. Jackson?"

"Oh, well, Daniel and I were neighbours in Egypt when we were kids. I didn't actually know he was here until we met up in the library."

"Actually, we just met by chance yesterday," Daniel offered.

"My dear Dr. Jackson, as I'm sure the lady would agree, there is nothing in this universe that is 'by chance'. Your meeting yesterday was something ordained." Dr. Amir informed Daniel with a tone of a grandparent scolding a child, which Daniel would have responded to if Sara had not smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"He's right Danny, that's what baba was saying yesterday when I rang him to tell him the news. He's so thrilled to know you're all right…"

"Yeah, right, so it was Kismet?" Daniel grinned, then turned apologetic, "About that, Sara, I'm in a real rush, and to be honest I may be unavailable tonight. Can I take a rain check on calling your dad?"

"Rain check? Oh, yes of course, I'm sure you've got a good excuse… " she didn't seem at all upset, and her eyes held something that Daniel couldn't quite get… still, it was 10:45 and the mountain was a ten minute drive away, so his curiosity would have to wait.

"Bye, Daniel, see you soon." Sara waved as she headed for her rental car.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So who is this special guest star?" asked Jack, playing with the clicker of his ball point pen.

"Advisor, colonel, special guest advisor." General Hammond smiled. Few of Jack's superiors would put up with such cheek. Sam hid a smile, while Daniel sat oblivious, lost in the enjoyment of a proper cup of coffee. "I'd prefer to wait for her to arrive, she's got an impressive resume and I'd hate to undersell the woman's talents."

Just then the phone rang. Hammond picked it up. "Yes. Yes, that's right airman, you can let her in." He paused, listening. "Yes I know that, airman, but despite what you may think, she has top level security clearance." Pause. "Airman, the last time I checked, the United States Government was not in the habit of handing out such clearance that easily. Now let the lady in, is that understood?" Pause. "That's all right son, just try to remember who's the General around here next time." Hammond sighed as he replaced the receiver. "It seems our guest has arrived."

"Problems, sir?" Carter asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Major, just an overenthusiastic guard trying to second-guess my authority."

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, and the guard ushered in their mystery guest.

"General Hammond, I apologise for my tardiness but I was attending to some matters quite relevant to our briefing," Daniel jumped at the voice. He looked up to see Sara, Dr. Sara Rhys, shaking hands with General Hammond. There. In the briefing room. In the SGC. In full sight of the Gate. 

"Dr. Sara Rhys, I'd like to introduce you to our flagship team, SG-1," General Hammond began while Daniel tried to regain his composure. He wasn't the only one. "Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'C."

Jack looked the woman up and down with apprehension. She was very elegantly dressed, but in typical Arab style, and Jack… well, Jack wasn't fond of Arabs. Not that he was a bigot or anything, far from it. He spoke passable Arabic, even, but his linguistic ability had come at a price, and seeing this woman in the briefing room made him uncomfortable as hell. Still, she had clearance, and Hammond seemed to like her, so he tried to relax.

Sam, on the other hand, was flooded with memories of the Shavadai women and their veils. Dr. Rhys was dressed similarly to those women, if more business-like. She wore a long, charcoal grey dress that went down to her feet, a suit jacket of the same colour, and her head was covered with a sage-green scarf. She wore no makeup at all, and every single bit of her except her face and hands was covered. Yet she smiled sincerely and carried herself with much confidence and self-assurance, something none of the Shavadai women had possessed. Sam didn't know whether to pity her or admire her.

Teal'C was impassive as usual, but he observed the reactions of his team to this woman with amused curiosity. One thing that puzzled him still about these Tau'ri was their religions. He had studied the texts of most of the Earth religions that were still in practice today, and was struck by the similarity of them all. He did not understand why the woman's dress, which he immediately recognised as a religious custom, caused such reactions, any more than he could understand how people with essentially the same beliefs had spent centuries in war with each other. 

Dr. Rhys acknowledged each introduction in turn, and smiled at Daniel. "Actually, Dr. Jackson and I have met previously," she admitted.

"Daniel? Care to share?" Jack quizzed.

"Umm, yes, actually…" he grinned his boyish Daniel grin, "Sara and I are actually from the same neighbourhood, so to speak."

"My family lived on the same road as Daniel's in Cairo, back in the day," Sara supplied.

"So you're Egyptian?" Carter guessed.

"Only a little. My mother was half-Irish, and my dad is Welsh. Egyptian citizenship is only given to people with Egyptian fathers. Plus, I've spent more time in Wales than in Egypt!"

"Dr. Rhys, like Dr. Jackson, is a very accomplished Linguist and Historian. However, as far as we're concerned, she is here in her capacity as an agent for the MI6," General Hammond interrupted. "British intelligence has briefed her on what we do here at the SGC, and they have requested her participation in your next mission."

Shocked, Daniel looked at his old friend. A spy? Sara just smiled back, her concentration on the briefing and on the file in front of her.

"With respect, General, is the doctor fully aware of the nature of our work? I mean, lots of these missions involve visiting, well, forests and jungles and, erm, fighting and stuff. Is she up for it?" Jack was trying to find a way of asking if she planned to go through the gate to an alien world in a long flowing dress, and if so, how was she planning to avoid getting it ripped up on thorns or caught in sliding doors on Goa'uld ships and stuff. 

But there was no nice way to ask that. Daniel and Sam both caught this and smirked, Teal'C just raised his eyebrow. 

"You needn't worry, Colonel. I'm trained in hand-to-hand combat and have extensive firearms training. And no, I wasn't planning on going through the gate wearing a long dress. Nice baggy combats should do me just fine!" Sara was used to this, and she didn't take offence. This put Jack at ease somewhat.

"So what is this mission?" interjected Sam, wanting to change the subject. She was beginning to like this woman – anyone who could get the last word in on the Colonel was all right in Sam's book. 

"Yeah, I thought you were here to give lectures about mirrors and stuff," added Daniel.

Sara laughed. "Well I had to have a good cover, didn't I? I did actually do my lecture this morning. Your friend Dr. Amir was there, that's how you found us at the coffee shop, by the way. We got talking after the lecture and he offered to buy me a cup of tea." Again Daniel felt that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was it jealousy? Envy? Protectiveness? Whatever it was, he just tried to ignore it.

"Umm, General? The mission?" Jack wanted to get to the point.

"Sorry Colonel. The MI6 is currently in negotiations with the Japanese government over extradition of two members of the Japanese Red Army whom we suspect of carrying out paramilitary training in Northern Ireland. Japan has no formal extradition agreement with the UK, so the MI6 needs to come up with something the Japanese want. We think the SGC can help us with that something."

"The lost treasures of Ise," piped in Daniel suddenly, the lightbulb coming on.

"Exactly," Sara confirmed. "There are three ancient treasures housed in the Grand Shrine at Ise. These have always been venerated as the original artifacts brought down from heaven to Japan by Amaterasu herself. But recently, the Imperial Household Agency finally agreed to let them be carbon dated, and it turns out there's no way they can be the originals. Not by a thousand years or so. They want to find the originals."

Jack was confused. Daniel was the only archaeologist here, why did Dr. Rhys and the MI6 want SG-1's help?

"We think the originals are still in the possession of the Goa'uld Amaterasu herself. If we can get them, we get our JRA suspects," Sara answered simply.

"So we're supposed to go off-world to grab some Goa'uld jewelry so that the MI6 can get some Japanese commie guerrillas?" Jack was so not buying it.

"Jack, they're not likely to just be fashion accessories. The treasures of Amaterasu were what held her power. They could be weapons or other devices, couldn't they?" Daniel was getting excited over this. He had heard Amaterasu's name mentioned amongst the rebel Jaffa, but as she was a minor Goa'uld there had been no encounters with her for the team. 

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of the Tok'ra representative. An arrogant-  
looking young woman was ushered in to the room.

"I am Lisha of the Tok'ra High Council. How may we be of assistance?"

"Please sit down, we're just coming to the mission details," General Hammond instructed. "Dr. Rhys, please continue."

"What we plan is this. There is a fable amongst the Japanese that Amaterasu took herself into a cave to protest some actions done by her brother, plunging the world into darkness. The 'god of merriment' then danced in front of the cave to lure her out, and Amaterasu was shown her own beauty in a mirror. We have intelligence from the Russian Stargate programme that suggests Amaterasu is re-enacting this event annually, hiding herself and having one of her lesser Goa'uld servants perform a dance to bring her out again. The mirror used is the one that is meant to be in Ise. We're assuming the other treasures are also used in this ceremony."

"And where do the Tok'ra come into this? We have no operatives with Amaterasu, she is of little significance amongst the System Lords."

"No you don't, but we need to borrow one. More precisely, we need to borrow a Tok'ra symbiote," Sara continued as everyone's eyes widened. "I will need to blend with the symbiote temporarily in order to pose as Amaterasu's servant. Really, we've discussed all the possible options at the MI6, and this is the only way. The Tok'ra do not have the knowledge of Japanese needed to carry this out."

"But a temporary blending?" asked Sam, surprised at the lengths this woman was willing to go to. "Couldn't you make do with an injection of naquada into your blood and a voice changer box?" 

"We did think of that, Major, but then whoever goes in will have to be female, and have a command of Japanese, Goa'uld, and Hebrew."

"Hebrew?" more than one voice chimed in surprise.

"Yes, Hebrew. It has come to light in recent years that Amaterasu was on Earth, in Egypt, in the time of Ra. After Ra's departure, she remained on Earth in hiding, possibly in the house of the Kings and Pharaohs themselves. We don't know what she called herself back then, but it seems she left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. She stayed amongst the Hebrews, stirring up trouble, until the fall of Judea and the dispersion of the Ten Tribes. Recent research suggests that she led one of the tribes to Japan and set up her religion there. There is much linguistic and anthropological evidence to support this, although no genetic testing of the Japanese population has been carried out yet."

"So the golden calf and all that was her doing?" Jack joked. Everyone just looked at him. "What? So I know a Bible story? Is that so strange?"

Sara nodded. "Indeed it may have been, Colonel. The whole fall of the Kingdoms of Judea and Israel may have been her doing. We don't know the details, but without a sarcophagus it seems she kept herself alive so long by regularly switching hosts. This way she also avoided raising suspicion amongst the people she was trying to deceive."

"Until when was she present here on Earth? How was she able to leave?" asked Teal'C.

"That we don't know. What we do know is that the false artifacts at Ise date from about 200 B.C. We know that Osiris had a ship hidden on Earth, and we know that the Antarctic gate may have been accessible at that time. There are several possibilities."

"This is amazing," Daniel beamed. "So you're saying that the whole Japanese nation is one of the Lost Tribes? That almost sounds crazier than my theory about the pyramids!" 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Later that day found Daniel and Sam walking the halls of the SGC, contemplating their upcoming mission. General Hammond had given them the go-ahead, but there would be a delay until a willing Tok'ra symbiote could be procured. So Sam and Daniel were heading to the commissary for lunch.

"How is this going to work, Daniel?" Sam was complaining. She didn't see how Sara was going to be able to pull this whole thing off. Although she had found she liked the woman, she was nowhere near ready to trust her on a mission.

Daniel, on the other hand, was sold. "I knew Sara when we were kids, Sam, and even then she was a tenacious little thing. I mean, what she wanted, she got. She could charm the parka off an Eskimo. If we use that recognition drug on Amaterasu, the same one I used on Yu, there should be no problems whatsoever."

Sam just replied, "Charm the parka off an Eskimo? Daniel, could you be more un-PC?"

The commissary was crowded, but they spied Sara sitting on her own at a corner table, reading the label on a bag of potato chips.

"Hey Danny," she smiled. "Please join me. I'm getting bored reading ingredients lists… some things are better left unknown!"

Sam grinned at that, she was normally a healthy eater but for the blue jello thing… and she refused to think about what made it blue!

"Sara," Daniel began, hesitantly. "Listen, about that conversation you were having with Dr. Amir earlier…"

"No worries, Danny. It was all lecture related… well, some of the information may also pertain to this mission, but I've worked for the MI6 for seven years now, I know who I can say what to."

"Actually I just wanted to warn you away from him." Sara looked at her friend with surprise, while he continued, "It's just, well, he talks a good talk, you know, he can seem to be a nice, pious, well mannered gentleman, but in truth he's a bit of a 'sukebe jiji'!"

Sara laughed out loud at that, and Sam looked at Daniel with an expression that asked for a translation.

"Danny just called the venerable Dr. Amir a dirty old man." Sara supplied. "But Danny, you're assuming I didn't see right through him in the first place!" Daniel smiled with relief at that. 

"So, you and Daniel knew each other when you were kids?" Sam began, trying to get to know this Dr. Rhys better.

"Yeah, Dr. Jackson Senior and my dad were best buddies really, and Danny was always over at our house. My dad used to make him listen to the British radio to make sure he didn't grow up sounding Egyptian when he spoke English, and then my mum would fill him up on falafel and maqloubah and hummous because his mum was always out on digs and didn't 'cook properly,' and my mum put it. Danny was pretty skinny as a kid!"

"Yeah, not just as a kid," Daniel joined in.

"Well you sure aren't skinny now," Sam remarked, making Daniel blush.

"So I'll assume there's a Mrs. Jackson keeping you well fed?" Sara could have tasted the awkward silence that her comment produced. "What, did I say something wrong?"

"No, Sara, just that there was a Mrs. Jackson, but… she's gone. She died." Daniel stated flatly. Just when he thought he was over Sha're, someone, somewhere, had to remind him. "The Goa'uld killed her. But don't worry, that was a few years ago."

Sara's reaction was a simple Arabic saying, "We're from God, and to Him we return." Daniel wanted to find comfort in her words, but his years of fighting "gods" had left him with little faith that there might be a real one up there somewhere. Still, Sara believed there was one, and Sara was a friend, so, illogical though it may seem, there was some comfort in that. 


	6. Chapter 6

Daniel, Sam, and Sara were still sitting in the commissary when the klaxons went off and the familiar voice declaring an unscheduled off-world activation was heard. The three of them wordlessly rose and proceeded to the Gate room, where General Hammond was receiving a transmission from the Tok'ra. They arrived just as the gate shut down.

"Well, Major Carter, it seems we might have a symbiote for Dr. Rhys sooner than expected."

"How's that, sir?" Sam was surprised; Lisha had said it could take days to convince the High Council to approve the potentially risky procedure and subsequent mission.

"It seems a Tok'ra operative was discovered on a Goa'uld homeworld, severely tortured, and then returned to her ship. The symbiote is alive, but the injuries sustained by the host are too great for its healing abilities. There is a willing host available, but she will not be available for several weeks, so in the meantime the symbiote is willing to enter into a temporary blending with Dr. Rhys."

"Do we know the Tok'ra in question?" asked Daniel warily. He was feeling inexplicably uneasy about the whole proposal, and knowing how some of the Tok'ra could be, wasn't so keen on Sara taking one on, even temporarily.

"Yes, we do, son, and I know you're not going to like this. It's Anise."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jack's voice could be heard from Hammond's office through the corridors of the SGC. "General, sir, may I remind you of the headaches that woman has caused us? The armbands? The brain scan machine? And now you want to put her snake into Dr. Rhys for the sake of some hair-brained mission?"

"Colonel, calm down! That's an order!" stormed the General, for once putting the Colonel in his place. "Firstly, Dr. Rhys is fully aware of who Anise is, and what she has done. Secondly, we have treaties and agreements to honour, here on Earth and with the Tok'ra. I am under direct orders from the President himself, by special request of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to allow this blending to go ahead, provided all parties agree. If Dr. Rhys wants to refuse to host Anise, that is her right, but she has not refused."

"No, I haven't," a voice came from the doorway, and the two men looked up startled. "Sorry to interrupt you General, but I wanted to give you this." She handed him a narrow envelope. "As I understand it, blendings don't always work, am I correct?" The General nodded, he had heard Teal'C mention the fact on occasion, although he didn't have any particulars. "Well, in case anything happens to me, I'd like you to take this. It has instructions in case of my, erm, demise."

"Feeling optimistic, are we?" droned Jack.

Sara just smiled. "I'm a Muslim, Colonel. We never take this life for granted. Wouldn't it be worse to die and have no one know what my final wishes are"  
Jack had no answer for that. He'd lost enough men, and women, in his line of work to know that death was just a reality of life. But to deal with the possibility of it so practically was something he didn't think he could ever do.

Hammond took the envelope warily, turned it over in his hands, then put it into his desk drawer. "Are you sure about this, Doctor? I know you're very committed to your cause and serving your country, which is commendable, but to put yourself at risk like this…"

"General," she interrupted him. "Every day of our lives we put ourselves at some sort of risk. I could just as easily forego the blending, to be 'safe,' but be killed in a car crash the next day, right? I don't mean to be fatalistic, but when it's my time, it's my time. I can't prevent that." Her tone was firm but she was far from angry or defensive. She understood that most people didn't think like she did. Maybe it was cultural, or maybe it was her faith, but Sara Rhys had faced death on many occasions, and it was not something she feared, but rather something she saw as the next stage of her existence. "Please don't think I'm being pessimistic here. Call my commander in London, he'll tell you that he's got a drawer full of letters, one for every mission I've ever been on!" She laughed, but then sobered as she saw the expressions the two men wore. "Listen, I'm not going to go kamikaze on anyone on this mission. As always, I will take every precaution to ensure it is carried out safely and we all get back in one piece. You have my word on that."

"All right, Doctor," Hammond conceded. 

"So, when does the fun begin?" asked Jack. He was still not convinced, but he knew his job and would carry it out.

"Anise will arrive on base tomorrow morning," Hammond said. "The symbiote has already been removed from Freya, who died earlier today from her injuries. If all goes well, Anise and Dr. Rhys can 'blend' in the afternoon. However, Dr. Frasier has recommended we allow 48 hours to ensure the procedure's success before starting the mission to Amaterasu's base."

The following morning found Daniel walking down one of the SGC corridors when a door to his right suddenly opened, startling him from the volume he was reading.

"Sara," he exclaimed when he saw the slight woman emerging from what he had always thought was a broom closet. "Um, what are you doing in there?"

"Sorry?" Sara was a world away, and hadn't noticed her friend in the hallway.

"Why are you coming out of a broom closet?"

She smirked at that. "I'm glad you agree, Dr. Jackson. Really, your Air Force spends billions every year on power for the 'Gate, yet can't provide a better prayer room for it's personnel!" That's when Daniel noticed the small sign reading 'Multifaith Room' to the left of the door. 

"Hey, I didn't know we had one of these!" Daniel admitted.

"Learned something new today, Doctor?" Sara joked. "Dr. Frasier told me to come ASAP – Anise has arrived and is ready for me, it seems. I thought I'd get in a moment with my Creator before I went to the infirmary."

"Right," was all Daniel could reply. He'd grown up with Arab Muslim neighbours, but other than Uncle Haroun and his family he'd not known any on such a personal level. That and his own extreme cynicism meant such topics made the normally calm scholar severely uncomfortable.

Again, Sara felt like she'd put her foot in it. "Daniel, are you going to tell me what's wrong or not?"

He looked at the woman beside him. Blunt and to the point, she really hadn't changed much since their shared childhood, and although he understood why, he felt it odd that there needed to be such a physical distance between them. Not that Daniel was a touchy-feely type, but he thought nothing of sharing some sort of physical contact with most of his close friends. With Sara, he felt as though he'd found a long-lost sister, and yet he couldn't even touch her on the arm or give her a chaste hug to express his feelings for fear of committing some breach of religious etiquette. 

That meant he had to rely on words alone to express how he was feeling about this blending, and the upcoming mission. And for once the polyglot archaeologist was at a loss for words!

"It's just…" he began, then hesitated. "I don't know, Sara. To be honest, I'm not comfortable with the idea of you blending with Anise. She's a real piece of work – she manipulated the SGC for her own aims more than once, and…"

"And you're worried about me," Sara finished for him.

"Yeah… yeah, I am. Is that weird for you?" The last thing Daniel wanted was to offend her, but at the same time he couldn't help this overwhelming urge to protect his friend from this great unknown.

"Danny, that is so not weird. I'd think it weird if you didn't worry about me!" was the answer, and Daniel sighed with relief. "Hey, you're like my own brother, right? At least that's how it felt for me when we lost track of you. I don't know why, but I feel like you're almost closer to me than my real brothers…"

"Listen, Sara, I know you're due in the infirmary soon but what say we keep them waiting a bit and go out for lunch? We can take Sam along as a 'chaperone' if you like," Daniel joked, knowing that Sara's dad would have insisted on it!

"I'd love that, Dr. Jackson." 


	7. Chapter 7

An hour later, Daniel, Sam, and Sara walked into a local diner known more for its spacious, high-backed booths than its cuisine. Sara was too nervous about the imminent blending to think about eating, and Daniel was more interested in being able to converse in relative privacy. He could not help but notice, however, the thinly veiled glances some of the patrons were casting in Sara's direction. He felt that sense of protectiveness rising up again, but then realized that Sara herself seemed unfazed, and so decided to ignore them. 

When they were seated, Sam and Sara on one side, Daniel opposite, and had ordered their lunches, a slightly awkward silence fell over them. Sam, feeling like a bit of a third wheel for some reason, decided to break the ice.

"Sara, if you don't mind my asking, what's a nice girl like you doing working for MI6 anyway? You don't seem like a typical spy…" She lowered her voice as she said this, not wanting to attract any more attention than they already were.

"I was recruited straight out of uni, actually," Sara began. "I'd done my undergrad at SOAS in London, and I was planning to go straight into a Masters' programme, so I wasn't even doing the milkrounds," she noticed Sam's confused expression and explained, "That's what we call the recruitment sessions companies hold at universities for final year students. So, yeah, they came to me, it would seem. I guess really they wanted me for my Arabic, but the Japanese came in handy as well. It's actually a lot of fun, even though ninety percent of the time I'm just in the office translating documents. They even paid for me to do my MA and PhD part time while I was working for them."

"Yeah, the Air Force did the same for me. Pretty good deal, really," Sam agreed.

"But how does Japan fit into all of this? I mean, I'm only a year or two older than you, right?" Sara nodded in reply to Daniel's question. "You say you've worked at MI6 since leaving university, so when did you learn Japanese?"

Sara gave a small, rueful smile, as though remembering something she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I did my BA in Japanese Linguistics. I actually went and lived in Japan for about three years before I started uni. I was just a kid, really, but I was going through a horribly rebellious streak, and I was desperate to get out of Wales. Egypt was out of the question. I wanted to go wild and not have anyone tell me what was right or wrong."

Daniel was stunned. Go wild? Since meeting her again just a few days ago, Daniel had assumed that Sara had led a conservative, religious life. He remembered Uncle Haroun, and how he and Daniel's father had often held long debates on the subject of religion. Haroun and his wife were simple, devout, peaceful people. Daniel wondered what had made Sara want to rebel against that.

As if reading his mind, Sara explained. "It started when I was about 15, I guess. I suddenly woke up one day and decided this life wasn't for me anymore. I had lost my mum, before that we'd lost you and your parents, and my brothers were both much older than me and couldn't relate. It was just me and dad and the housekeeper in this little town in west Wales. I was such an outsider, and so I decided to pack myself up and get out of there. I applied to study abroad, I didn't care where, and they placed me at a high school in northern Japan. The lifestyle there was completely mad, hedonistic really. Of course, I took off my scarf and wore whatever was in fashion just to fit in. Parties, karaoke, you name it, I was there!

"But then, after a while, I realized that no matter what I did, I still didn't fit in, and that I likely never would. In Egypt I was 'English,' in Wales I was 'Arab,' and in Japan I was just 'foreign.' It was around this time I met a student from Tunisia – even in Japan, she kept her scarf on and never missed her prayers, and yet she seemed to have far more peace in her life than I did. I finally got up the nerve to ask her for advice, and she told me a saying. 'Islam started as something strange, and it will return to being something strange. So blessed be the strangers.' I didn't get it at first, but then I realized that she was trying to tell me that there is sometimes a great deal of good in being different."

Sam listened with growing compassion. She, too, had lost her mother, and had rebelled. She, too, struggled to fit into the male-dominated world she lived in. And with her dad with the Tok'ra and her brother so far away, Sam, too, knew what it was to be a stranger. If it weren't for her teammates, she would be completely alone.

Daniel also felt that he knew where Sara was coming from, which didn't surprise him. He'd grown up a stranger. He and Sam glanced at each other and smiled, realizing they were both thinking how lucky they were to have SG-1, a team made up of "strangers."

Again, it fell to Sam to break the silence. "So how old were you when you left Egypt? You were born there, right?"

"Yeah, we left not long after my mum died. She had ovarian cancer and it killed her really quickly. I guess I was about ten. It was about four years after Daniel's parents' accident. My brothers were both away in the UK for university, and my dad couldn't handle being in Cairo without mum. She was his only reason for staying there. So he sold our flat and we went back to the old family house in Wales."

Daniel still remembered Sara's mum vividly. She was older than his mum by several years, so everyone called her Auntie. He remembered his mother saying how she'd had her two sons right after getting married, but then suffered a series of miscarriages and stillbirths before having Sara nearly a decade later. It was the last stillbirth that had led to the deep bond between the two families, and Daniel wondered if Sara knew the story.

"You know, your mother was like a mother to me."

Sara smiled at Daniel's words; she knew her mum had loved Daniel like her own son. 

But she was completely taken aback by what came next.

"Before she had you, when I was just a baby, my mother wanted to get back to work. But, what with it being Egypt, there wasn't a lot of baby formula about. The custom there was to find a wet-nurse," he explained for Sam's benefit. "But there was no one I would go to. Then your mother, well, she suffered another stillbirth. I think it must have been really late in the pregnancy, because afterwards her milk came in. She offered to try to feed me – I think it was probably just to relieve her own pain – but I took to her straight away. My mother was amazed, and…" Daniel trailed off as he saw the colour drain from Sara's face, her hands starting to shake as she put down her cup.

"Danny," she nearly whispered, fighting hard to hold back tears, "are you absolutely certain of what you are saying?"

Daniel was positive. He'd heard his mum and dad talk about it several times, how he'd refused all the regular wet-nurses in the neighbourhood and been branded 'that picky American baby.' Yet he'd gone to Sara's mum time and again, right up until Sara was born and she took over.

"Danny, you realize what this means, don't you?" Sara was looking at him with an indescribable expression, full of emotion. 

He just shook his head, no. What could it mean?

Very deliberately, Sara removed her hand from her cup (which she had clung to in an effort to stop their shaking), reached across the table, and took Daniel's hand in her own. Daniel just looked down, not understanding why she had suddenly 'broken the rules' to make such contact, then, as realization dawned on him, he looked back to her for confirmation.

"We're…" He almost couldn't speak.

Sara nodded, seeing that he understood but couldn't give voice to the words. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Sam, off to the side, was too confused to feel left out. "Um, guys? Sorry, I think I'm missing something here…"

Sara laughed, turned to the perplexed major and confused her even more by giving her a quick hug, and then stated simply, "Dr. Jackson here just found his long-lost sister." 


	8. Chapter 8

"_Dan'yel, I have missed you so much." The familiar voice floated softly on the desert breeze. Daniel stood at the entrance to the tent, looking out over the dunes, but on hearing the voice, he turned his face back inside and smiled at his wife._

"_Sha're, what do you mean? I've only been gone a few hours." He took her familiar form into a warm embrace, inhaling the scent of her long, wavy hair and planting soft kisses on her inviting neck._

"_Dan'yel, do not tease me. You were gone for so long, I thought we would never find you!" She seemed near tears, and Daniel wondered fleetingly what had happened to make her so worried. "You must promise you will never leave me again, my Dan'yel."_

"_I promise, I will never let you worry again. I love you, and I will always be here for you." He kissed her passionately, and when he finally broke away, he rested his forehead on hers, as he so often did, to gaze into her endless black, almond eyes…_

_But the eyes he found were the colour of the sea before a storm, not black, and the voice that answered, although compelling and inviting, was not Sha're's… _

In shock, Daniel sat straight up in bed. Within a few seconds he realised with relief where he was. But a few seconds later, he realised what he had just dreamed.

"Oh, crap, this is _so_ not good."

* * *

Two days ago, Daniel Jackson had discovered he had a sister he had never known. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. He had known Sara Rhys since childhood. It was the fact that they were siblings that he never knew.

That same day, Daniel Jackson had watched helplessly as said sister was implanted with one of his least favourite Tok'ra symbiotes, entirely against his better judgement.

After the revelation in the diner, Daniel and Sara had spent several hours sitting together in that booth, him drinking coffee while she patiently explained how the whole sibling thing worked. Daniel had, as a baby, been breast-fed by Sara's mother, on a regular basis for nearly one year. Therefore, according to Muslim law, they were as much brother and sister as if they had been born from the same womb.

Daniel was on the one hand relieved and elated by this, but on the other hand hugely apprehensive. Relieved because he no longer needed to be on his toes so much around Sara. He could just be himself, treat her as he would any other good friend. Elated because he had never had any brothers or sisters. Daniel was alone in the world, or so he had thought. Now he had a sister, brothers, even a sort of father.

And hugely apprehensive because, the more time he and Sara spent together, the more he became aware that they both had very dangerous jobs, and that he could very easily lose her all over again.

That afternoon, he had driven her back to the mountain to check in with Dr. Frasier. The doctor had shooed him away, saying he could come back in an hour, after she had prepared both Sara and Anise for the blending.

He spent the hour pacing the hallway outside the infirmary like an expectant father.

"Daniel, you can come in now."

He pushed aside the curtains that had been set up around Sara's bed for privacy, but he was completely unprepared for what he saw.

Sara sat on the bed, dressed in a tight-fitting T-shirt and loose trousers. Her hair, normally covered by her scarf, hung loose down her back and around her pale face. The Sara Rhys he had met in the University library, confident, business-like, strong, was gone. In her place sat his childhood playmate, tiny, delicate, and feminine. Her gray eyes smiled at him, as she gestured to the chair next to her.

"Danny, come, sit with me."

Daniel felt like an interloper. He wondered what he had done to be given the right to be here, when all other male personnel on base had been warned away from the curtain. It didn't seem right that, by virtue of his babyhood needs, he was now given access to the side of Dr. Rhys normally reserved for her father and brothers.

To complicate matters, he found himself looking at Sara in a way a brother shouldn't. She was a uniquely attractive woman. Slender without any hint of frailty, skin as fair as himself or Sam, but with a mysteriously olive undertone. She was what most Arabs would call a typical Damascus beauty, with fair skin, red lips, and long dark eyelashes. As for her hair, well, for the first time Daniel could see the wisdom behind her scarves, most men would be driven to distraction by such hair, he reasoned. It was jet black, no hint of brown or red, curled in thick, glossy ringlets that looked too perfect to be natural, yet too random to have been planned. And from where he sat he could catch her scent, it reminded him of the incense they used to burn in most of the homes in Cairo, sandalwood and cinnamon.

"Get a grip!" Daniel inwardly warned himself. "She's your SISTER, for… Oh, yeah, this is going to take some getting used to!"

Thankfully, at that moment Sam made her appearance, arriving just in time to offer her support. Sara was full of questions for her about her experiences with Jolinar.

"To be honest, I was blended with Jolinar so briefly, and in that time she allowed me so little control, that I'm really not the best person to ask. I know it hurt, when she entered me, but that quickly passed. But the whole two brains in one head thing was weird."

Sara looked at her hands as they nervously played with the bed sheet edge. "I have to admit, I'm more than a little scared," she nearly whispered.

Daniel immediately jumped in. "You don't have to do it, Sara. I'm sure we can find another way. The only real issue is the languages needed, but …"

Sara quieted him with a hand on the arm. Her eyes found his, he had been avoiding them until now, and she smiled, revealing slightly crooked teeth that somehow perfectly suited her exotic beauty.

"Danny, I know you're scared too, but there's too much at stake here. I have to do it." There was something Daniel couldn't read behind her eyes, something she was hiding. Daniel was about to interrogate her when he heard Janet asking if she could interrupt them.

The doctor entered carrying the Tok'ra symbiote in a water-filled container. As Sara apprehensively eyed the 'snake', Janet busied herself attaching all sorts of sensors and monitors to her patient. She was taking no risks. Although blendings were normally straightforward events, this was the first Janet had overseen, and she'd be darned if anything were left to chance on her watch!

When everything was ready, Janet turned to Sara with a smile and briefly explained what would happen. Daniel felt as though he were sitting on hot coals. He wanted to jump up, rip all the wires off Sara, and just drag her off to somewhere safe. But he figured she'd never forgive him, so he sat in his visitor's chair, grimly eyeing the proceedings and unconsciously praying that everything would be all right.

Satisfied that her patient knew the risks and yet was still willing, Janet opened the vessel and carefully removed the symbiote from the liquid. Both Daniel and Sam flinched at the familiar screech of the creature, but then Sara calmly lay down on the bed and allowed the doctor to proceed.

Neither Daniel nor Sam could actually bear to watch as Anise entered Sara, but they both heard the familiar choking, gagging sound as the snake bore its way into the back of her throat. They then both turned in time to witness the glow of Sara's eyes as Anise took hold.

Suddenly, the expression on Sara's face changed to one of confused fear, then Anise's voice choked out.

"I cannot…"

Daniel and Sam looked on in horror as Sara's eyes rolled upwards and she fell back against the bed, unconscious.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Colonel O'Neill was in Dr. Frasier's office, trying to make sense of what was being termed the 'botched blending'. As far as Janet could figure, both Sara and Anise were fine, but for some unknown reason they were both in a light coma. Janet had run test after test, but could determine nothing.

"Colonel, our understanding of Goa'uld physiology is still very limited, but I can tell you that both host and symbiote are in perfect health, physically and mentally. I just can't wake them up." Janet had her head in her hands and was rubbing her temples.

"Sorry, Doc, but 'can't wake them up' indicates they are _not_ in perfect health, doesn't it?" Jack asked sarcastically. He may not like the Tok'ra, and he still wasn't so sure about Dr. Rhys, but he certainly didn't wish either of them any harm, and seeing as how Sara was meant to be going on this mission, that meant, to him anyway, that she was under the charge of SG-1.

Dr. Frasier was about to reply when they heard Daniel calling. "Janet, she's awake!"

Sara was lying on the bed, looking around the infirmary with confusion in her eyes. Every so often she would close her eyes and her lips would move as if talking to herself, then she would open them again to look around. After a minute or so, her eyes fell on Daniel, and her face visibly relaxed as she offered him a small smile.

"Daniel, how long was I out?"

"Not long," he reassured her, although it had seemed an eternity. "Maybe two hours, I'm not sure. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, actually," came the reply as she moved to sit up. She was quickly stopped by Janet.

"Dr. Rhys, perhaps you had better stay lying down until we can determine what happened to you. Can we speak to Anise? She may be able to fill us in better."

Sara did not answer, but again closed her eyes and seemed to start talking to herself. After a few seconds she looked at Janet and smiled.

"It's very strange, Anise is here, but she can't come out," was the reply.

"I'm not sure I understand," Janet was very confused.

"Anise is fine," Sara repeated. "I can access her thoughts and memories, and it seems we can communicate to a degree. But she can't take control, nor can she access my mind unless I tell her something directly." She turned to Daniel. "Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"Not that we know of, but perhaps we should ask Teal'C," Janet replied, passing Sara her scarf and jacket so she could call the rest of SG-1 in.

Teal'C listened intently as both Sara and Janet explained to him what had happened after the blending, and then spoke.

"It is most unusual. However, I have heard of such a thing once before, although the host in question was not human, but Jaffa."

"But," Daniel interjected, "I thought Jaffa couldn't become hosts!"

"You are partially correct, Daniel Jackson. While a Jaffa carries his larval symbiote, he cannot become a host to a mature symbiote. However, if the larval Goa'uld matures and no host is available, it is possible for the Jaffa to be taken over completely. But there are many reasons why this is an unfavourable option."

"So what happened in the case you know of?" Janet asked.

"The Jaffa in question was a hostage of a rival System Lord, and his symbiote matured while he was imprisoned. The blending was incomplete; the Jaffa was able to access the Goa'uld mind but was not taken over. He used the knowledge to escape, but was killed by his own master once he returned to his homeworld."

"And why do you think the Goa'uld was unable to take over completely?" Jack queried.

"That I do not know. However–" Teal'C began, but before he could continue, Janet jumped in.

"Kel-no-reem!"

"Sorry?" was Sara's confused reply.

"Kel-no-reem. It's a form of meditation Jaffa must undergo in lieu of sleep," Daniel supplied. "Although what it's got to do with this…"

But Janet was too excited to stop. "Dr. Rhys, what month is it?"

"Um, December?" Sara was growing more and more confused, and the Tok'ra within her more irate at her seeming entrapment.

"No, I mean, in the Muslim calendar, what month is it now?" Janet clarified.

"Oh, well, I guess it's around the middle of Shawwal. But why?"

"So last month was Ramadan," Janet was surprising everyone with her knowledge of the Hijri calendar, but she was too much on a roll to notice the stares from her co-workers. She turned to Jack to explain her still-forming theory. "Dr. Rhys would have spent all of last month fasting during the day, and praying for extended lengths of time at night. It's a physically and spiritually demanding ritual, and some who practise, shall we say, intensively, experience a state of heightened mental clarity and awareness during this time. I would think that the amount of concentration required is comparable to that of the Jaffa in Kel-no-reem. Perhaps they both access or stimulate their minds in such a way that prevents complete symbiote blending."

Jack looked at the doctor skeptically.

"I would concur that Dr. Frasier's theory has a sound basis, O'Neill," Teal'C supplied. "It would explain why the Goa'uld discourage taking Jaffa as hosts."

"But that was two weeks ago," Sara interjected. "I'm not fasting now!"

"The effects would take time to wear off, especially since," Janet consulted her notes to be sure, "Yep, especially since your Depo shots are suppressing your periods, so you didn't have any break from fasting during the whole month," she concluded, failing to notice Sara's face turning beet-red at the rather public mention of her monthly cycle.

"So what now, doc?" Jack asked.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to keep you here for a few more hours for observations, then I'll release you to your quarters on base. We'll have to consult with Hammond to see if the mission can go ahead as scheduled."

Sara closed her eyes for a moment, her lips moving slightly. "Anise wants to say that she does not mind completing the mission, even in this state, and will provide me with any knowledge I may need for the task. But Dr. Frasier, do you think this will wear off?"

"It is just a theory, Dr. Rhys, but if I'm right it may take several more weeks for your brain chemistry to return to normal, and during that time Anise would slowly be able to take more and more control, as she wishes."

Sara nodded her understanding, and then Janet ushered the rest of the team out and shut the curtains, leaving her and Daniel. Sara turned to Daniel and gave him a wry grin.

"Danny, do you have a way with the Doctor the same as you have with the nurses?"

He laughed at that, then asked why.

"I really, _really_ don't want to stay on base tonight. Is there any way Dr. Frasier would release me to go back to my flat on campus? I need to be somewhere a bit more homey, you know?"

Daniel _did_ know, so he went to see what he could do. Twenty minutes and much begging and promising later, he returned.

"Well, Janet didn't say you can go to your own place, but she's agreed to let you come to mine, providing I keep an eye on you."

Sara was taken aback by the offer. "No, Danny, I couldn't impose like that," she tried to protest, but Daniel was having none of it, so she agreed.

Later that evening, he arrived at the infirmary to find Sara fully un-plugged and dressed, carefully tying her mane into a neat bun, over which she wrapped her hijab.

"Ready to go? Have you thought of what you want to do tonight?" he asked.

She turned to him with a million-watt smile that made him catch his breath, and with a twinkle in her eye, grabbed him by the arm and said, "_Yella_, Doctor Jackson, let's get out of here. We've got better things to do than hang out in this place!"


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Yes I am busy and I update infrequently. Perhaps if I actually owned the characters (other than the OC) and did this for a living, things would be different. And yes, that was a disclaimer… of sorts.

Hmmm, and perhaps if I thought someone were actually reading this, I would be more encouraged to get on with it… and that, my dears, is a thinly veiled request for reviews. Even if you HATE it, tell me why!

Thanks to my beta, CeeKay, who is very patient with correcting my Briticisms and keeping Daniel sounding like a Yank.

For those of you who aren't conversant in Arabic (ha, like I am or something!), I've included a wee glossary at the end for the italicised words.

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Of all the places Daniel had imagined he would find himself that evening, none came close to reality. Of course, Daniel perhaps should not have been as surprised as he was, considering his job and his normal, day-to-day activities. But nothing had prepared him for _this_.

The _this_ in question was a small, stuffy Middle Eastern restaurant, filled to capacity with _sheesha_-smoking, tea-drinking, backgammon-playing Arab men, a few of whom were accompanied by their wives. And _all_ of whom seemed to know Sara (or "Doktora Sara", as she was called) by sight. Daniel could only guess that, Colorado Springs being what it was, all the Arabs in town found out quickly if there was a new face around. Especially a new, attractive young female face!

The restaurant was Sara's idea; she was missing _falafel_ and _baba ghannoush_.

"And second-hand _sheesha_ smoke," Daniel mumbled as he coughed, again. He quickly cheered up, however, when he saw how relaxed and at-home Sara seemed. They chatted animatedly over their food, discussing everything from their old neighbourhood, to Sara's father, to the upcoming mission (the latter in code, of course). When they were finished eating, the waiter brought their tea.

"Oh, Daniel, look… they're holding a poetry reading!" Sara suddenly exclaimed.

Daniel had witnessed such events many times in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, and they never ceased to amaze him. One man stood up and took the mike, and after a moment's thought began reciting a poem that he had composed on the spot. But that was just the beginning. When he finished, the mike was then passed to his right, and the next man began his poem, starting with the last letter the man before him ended on. Sara and Daniel watched and listened, enraptured, as the men competed to see who could end on the most difficult letter for the next person.

Suddenly the microphone was thrust into Sara's hands, with cries of "_Doktora, Doktora!"_ egging her on. Sara hesitated for a moment, then looked at Daniel with a grin.

"He finished with _milad_, didn't he?" she asked, referring to the last speaker, and Daniel nodded, wondering how she would get out of this one.

Sara looked down for a second, thinking hard, then suddenly raised her head and the microphone to her lips and spoke.

"_Daleel fein?_

Where is the evidence? Bring it, if you can.

Show me how your blood is dearer than mine.

Show me how your suffering justifies mine.

Bring me your evidence, if you can.

Bring me your evidence that justifies the deaths, the killings,

of this man, this woman, this child, this home.

Show me if you can.

The innocent will not be judged.

But you and I? Ours is a different reckoning.

Where is your evidence? Bring it, show me,

Prove to me, who is the martyr? The one with the gun? The bomb?

Or the one who stood protecting the house, the church, the orchard?

Show me how your blood is dearer than mine,

how your suffering justifies mine.

Do not show me what you show _them!_

Show me what you will show _Him!_

The innocent will not be judged,

But you and I, we will have a different reckoning."

Daniel, and the rest of the room, were dumbstruck. Then, slowly, the room erupted into applause, the audience moved as much by her obvious emotion as the words themselves. Daniel looked on with a growing feeling of pride for his sister, but then began to wonder at the pain and suffering her poem had conveyed. Where had that come from?

But before he could ask, Sara had him by the arm and was dragging him out of the restaurant and onto the street. Daniel barely had time to grab his jacket, realising only as they reached the sidewalk the reason for Sara's hasty retreat: that evening's entertainment, a scantily-clad belly-dancer by the name of "Yasmine the Exotic" had begun her nightly routine of hip-shaking. Sara, needless to say, while fine with _sheesha_ pipes and backgammon, drew the line at some half-naked woman shaking her booty in front of her brother!

She grabbed him by the arm, looked at her watch, and exclaimed, "Hey, it's still early. Let's get some coffee and go back to your flat, shall we?"

Half an hour later, Sara and Daniel were home, steaming cups in hand, settling in the living room. Sara had quickly shucked off her scarf and coat and was busy shaking her hair back into shape, much to Daniel's consternation! He found it ironic that he almost wished she would keep it covered up; it was less of a distraction that way! He also found it ironic that the first beautiful woman he'd brought to his apartment in years was strictly off limits! But she was _family_, he reasoned, trying to convince himself, with little success, that it was enough to have her as a sister.

"Sara, I wanted to ask…" Daniel began, but was interrupted.

"Danny, listen, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, dragging you out like that. But I just can't watch that type of thing, it's so, I don't know, degrading."

It took Daniel a moment to understand that she was referring to the dancer in the restaurant. "No, Sara, I understand that completely. To be honest, I'm not so keen on that type of 'entertainment' anyway!" Sara laughed at that, and he continued, "But I wanted to ask you about the poem you read. Who wrote that?"

"I did," she admitted matter-of-factly. "I wrote it for my brothers, about two years ago. After they… after they died."

Daniel was stunned. Since meeting Sara in the library, she had only really spoken of her father. He knew she had two brothers, Jameel and Hassan, both of whom were much older than Sara. He had surmised from her talk about her time in Japan that they were not very close. But she had given no indication that they were dead.

"I'm sorry…" he began.

"They were killed in Gaza," Sara continued rapidly, as if getting it all out quickly made it less painful to talk about. "They had both gone to work as volunteers with kids in the refugee camps, teaching them English and Maths. They had only been there a month or so when it happened. There was one boy whose father was arrested for writing anti-Zionist poetry, and the family house and farm were going to be demolished. Jameel and Hassan went that night to stand in front of the house and the olive grove, trying to prevent the tanks and the bulldozers. They figured the soldiers wouldn't dare harm two British aide workers. But they were wrong; they were crushed to death, along with the boy and his two sisters, when the tanks ran them over." Hot, unshed tears threatened in Sara's slate-grey eyes, but she did not allow them to fall.

"So your poem, it's about Palestine and Israel?" Daniel asked gently, not knowing what else to say.

"No. Well, you'd think so, at first glance. If people want to take it that way, they can. But it's not. It's about all of us, the human race, how we point fingers and criticise and attack and get revenge, and it never ends. Anyone on either side of a conflict could read it and identify with it. It's about how we're supposed to all be the same, to all be brothers and sisters in humanity, but our corruption and our arrogance get in the way. That's what killed my brothers." Sara ended her tirade looking down at her small hands, trying to will away the tears that threatened to fall. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak in front of Daniel.

Wordlessly, Daniel leaned over and took his sister in a comforting hug, wishing there was more he could do for her. Sara, stunned by the gesture, lost her composure and broke into tears for the first time since Jameel and Hassan's funeral. Daniel responded by holding her tighter, rocking her small form as he would a child. Almost instinctively he found himself humming to her, some traditional Abydonian lullaby. They remained like that for some time, until Daniel felt her relax. She had cried herself to sleep, so he carefully lay her down on the sofa, covered her with an afghan, and left her to rest.

Daniel busied himself tidying up as quietly as possible, then dimmed the lights in the living room and took himself off to bed.

As soon as she heard Daniel's bedroom door click shut, Sara opened her eyes and quietly sat up. Feigning sleep was just one of the many skills she had been trained in for her work with MI6, and she found it had come in handy this evening. Putting her aching head in her hands, she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"_What was that all about?"_ Sara directed her thoughts to her newly-acquired symbiote.

"_I do not understand,"_ It was obvious Anise was feigning ignorance, forgetting that while she could not access Sara's mind freely, the opposite was not true.

"_Don't play with me. You enjoyed that just a little too much! Is there something you're not telling me?"_ Sara had felt Anise's response to Daniel's hug, a response which was anything but sisterly.

Anise heard the annoyance in Sara's thoughts, and assumed she was jealous of the attraction she felt for the archaeologist. _"Sara, I promise you, there is not, nor has there ever been, anything between Dr. Jackson and I. That said, he is a fine example of the human male, and very intelligent as well. I would be lying if I said I did not find him attractive,"_ the snake replied nonchalantly.

"_Listen to me,"_ Sara's obvious anger took Anise by surprise. "_Daniel Jackson is my brother. I know that eventually you will be able to take control of me as normal, and I want your word from now that you will respect this fact."_

"_Your brother?"_ It was obvious that Anise had not been aware of the status of Daniel and Sara's relationship. In her limited experience with the Tau'ri, Anise had made the assumption that the entire planet held the same cultural and religious views. Views which, it seemed, were only slightly more conservative than those of her previous host, Freya. She had thought Sara's attire nothing more than a mode of fashion. Indeed, she had assumed Sara and Daniel to be engaged in the early stages of courtship, such was their camaraderie and obvious affection. The notion that they were siblings had never occurred to her.

"_But how is that possible? Your physical appearances are very different."_

Sara explained to Anise how it was possible, and what it meant. Always fascinated by alien cultures and traditions, Anise was no less intrigued with what she learned from her new host, but she could not help harbouring a rather ethnocentric view, thinking Sara's obvious devotion to her faith and it's teachings nothing more than quaint anachronisms. Sara, of course, picked up on this.

'Great,' she thought to herself, 'Of all the symbiotes, I get the one with the Orientalist tendencies!' Then she turned her thoughts back towards Anise.

"_Like I said, I know that eventually you will be able to take control of me as normal, and I want your word from now that you will respect this fact, that Daniel is my brother. If you want to pursue him, feel free, but not with this body. Are we clear?"_

"_Like crystal,"_ Anise replied. "_But Sara, I must ask, you and Dr. Jackson are not related at all by blood. Is it so impossible for you to see him as I do?"_

Sara was taken aback by the question. Of course it was not impossible! Sara was a young, single woman, and she was fully aware of how attractive and sweet and, dare she say it, sexy Daniel was. But she was not ready to admit that to herself, let alone some snake temporarily installed in her brain! She thanked God that Anise couldn't read her thoughts.

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Glossary:

_Sheesha_: a Middle Eastern water pipe, hookah.

_Falafel_: little balls made of deep fried chickpea mash.

_Baba ghannoush_: a dip made of yoghurt and grilled aubergines/eggplants. Similar to hoummous.

_Doktora_: female form of Doctor.

_Milad_: birth, birthday. The last letter is 'd', so Sara must begin her poem with a word starting with 'd'.

_Daleel fein_: Egyptian dialect Arabic for 'Where is the evidence?' Presumably the rest of the poem is recited in the same dialect. Considering Sara left Egypt as a child and her dad is Welsh, she's likely never learned 'proper' Arabic!


End file.
